Private Project

The Ares Saga

An exploration of identity and trauma in four parts: five "siblings" must confront their abusive upbringing when a clash between two of them threatens to leave irreparable damage

  • Mick Gorley
    Director
  • Mick Gorley
    Writer
  • Danae Grandison
    Producer
  • Cecilia Calabrese
    Producer
  • Christopher Brian
    Key Cast
    "Ares"
  • Tali de Assis
    Key Cast
    "Maura"
  • Matthew Menendez
    Key Cast
    "Bennet"
  • Justin Schilling
    Key Cast
    "Damien/Alex"
  • Hassan Farrow
    Key Cast
    "Bodyguard"
  • James Luca
    Key Cast
    "Cyrus"
  • Jody O'Neil
    Key Cast
    "Enoch"
  • Paul Francis Mawaka
    Key Cast
    "Tay"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    42 minutes 35 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Mick Gorley

Mick Gorley is a nonbinary filmmaker from Agawam, Massachusetts. Specializing in works which tend toward darker subject matters, Mick favors shorter narratives with lower emphasis on special effects and greater focus on performance. They have held many positions on film sets; ranging from script writing and acting to camera work and directing. They have two completed feature-length screenplays; one in the fantasy genre and one set in modern day.

After switching their major from Theater Directing to Communication Arts, Mick graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema, Television, and Emerging Media. In the Spring of 2020, they graduated from the School for Visual Arts with a Master’s degree in Film Directing. They’ve been working as a classroom assistant there for the last four years.

Currently, Mick is developing a fifth script (still untitled), after rounding out their original trilogy with the completion of their third short “Ignis” and finishing work on their spin-off, "Limulus."

Their previous three films “Periculum," “Captis,” and "Ignis" have garnered over two dozen laurels combined; from festivals in Berlin, Paris, Dublin, London, and in festivals across the United States.

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Director Statement

The question of identity is one which plagues us all. Is it relative? Is it a fixed notion? Is there anyone in the world who really has it all figured out?

When I started this anthology back in 2020, I was just coming to the end of my first really serious relationship with a girl. She'd been my confidant, my best friend, and I was deeply in love with her. Periculum came from my anxiety: how much of my true self should I share? How much should I keep secret? I knew I trusted her, I just wasn't certain that I was worthy of her.

Our breakup came just a few months before Captis. I was missing her, but I had to find the strength to pick up and move on. I also didn't want to lose what I'd found when we were together. I didn't want to go back to my old insecurities. My journey began, as Ares' does, to forge a new path.

Ignis, in many ways, is an acceptance of that new path and a reconciling of my past to my future. Ares has been hurt, but he's getting back on his feet. I was at my loneliest, but I had to carry on.

Limulus is my last step in my current evolution. I'm not the same person I was when I originally moved out of Massachusetts. That person is gone. You can find bits and pieces left, you can reminisce, but all that's left is acceptance. I'm grown now, I have more of a voice. The clay has been molded and set out to dry.

Cracks will form with time. The shape may never harden completely. But time builds identity.